Donald M Mattison

Indiana Post Office Mural Artist

January 13, 2024 By David W. Gates Jr.

Jean Swiggett Franklin IN Artist — Jean Swiggett Franklin Indiana Artist

A total of thirty-six artist created murals in forty-two Indiana Post Office buildings during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Seven of the artist received multiple commissions as noted below. The artist and their awarded sites as listed below.

We have found having a list such as this is convenient when performing research at the National Archives Records and Administration. Any researcher will reveal, that finding information is part of the fun, somethings what you are looking for is catalogued by the artist name. Other times the research materials you need may be cataloged by the city or town, and so on.

Having a list to refer to is helpful on your journey of discovering these wonderful treasures in our nations post offices.

Indiana Post Office Mural Artist

Alexandria: Roland Author Schweinsburg
Angola: Charles Malcolm Campbell
Attica: Reva Jackman
Aurora: Henrik Martin Mayer*
Batesville: Orville A. Carroll
Bedford: John Fabion
Berne: Walter Gardner
Bloomfield: Lilian Swann Saarinen
Boonville: Ida York Abelman
Cambridge City: Samuel Franklin Hershey
Crawfordsville: Frank Weathers Long
Crown Point: George Melville Smith
Culver: Jessie Hull Mayer*
Danville: Gail Wycoff Martin
Dunkirk: Frances Foy Dalstrom
Fowler: Nat Werner
Franklin: Jean Swiggett
Gas City: William Adelbert Dolwick*
Garrett: Joe Cox
Hobart: William Adelbert Dolwick*
Indianapolis-Birch Bayh Federal Building: Grant Wright Christian*
Indianapolis-Birth Bayh Federal Building: David K. Rubins
Indianapolis-Broad Ripple: Alan Tompkins*
Jasper: Jessie Hull Mayer*
Knightstown: Raymond L. Morris
Lafayette: Henrik Martin Mayer*
Lagrange: Jessie Hull Mayer*
Liberty: Avery Johnson
Ligonier: Fay E. Davis
Martinsville: Alan Tompkins*
Middlebury: Raymond Redell
Monticello: Marguerite Thompson Zorach
Nappanee: Grant Wright Christian*
North Manchester: Alan Tompkins*
Paoli: Tom Rost
Pendleton: William Frederick Kaeser
Rensselaer: John Edward Costigan
Rockville: Milton Avery
Spencer: Joseph Meert
Tell City: Laci de Gerenday
Terre Haute: Frederick Webb Ross
Tipton: Donald Magnus Mattison*
Union City: Donald Magnus Mattison*

Henrick Martin Mayer
Jessie Hull Mayer
William Dolwick
Grant Wright Christian
Alan Tompkins
Donald Mattison

Sources

David W. Gates Jr. on site visits to each location.
Indiana Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
National Archives Records and Administration, College Park Maryland
Who was who in American Art, 1564-1975: 400 years of artist in America, Peter H Falk; Audrey M Lewis, Georgia Kuchen, Veronika Roessler, Madison, CT, Mount View Press. 1999.
Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz

Union City Indiana Post Office

November 28, 2021 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 102 W. Pearl St., Union City, Indiana 47390
ARTIST: Donald M. Mattison
TITLE: Country Cousins
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Union City post office is still an active, operating facility, and the mural can be viewed by interested members of the public. It resides in the lobby on a wall above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1935

Union City is a perfect example of the lighting I prefer when I arrive for a site visit. The sun is shinning perfectly on the front of the building. I have deep blue skies. This is the perfect scenario and thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Union City.

In addition to have a great mural, Union City also has some great historical photos on display. Someone also took the time to create a wonderful bulletin board of postal history. This is a nice touch for visitors.

As info, the reason all the images of the old photos are on an angle was to avoid the glare. Each picture was in a glass frame. This made it difficult to photograph and see the old photo. Taking my pictures at various angles helped to eliminate the glare and allow us to see more of the old photos.

David W. Gates Jr.

Union City IN Post Office 47390 Mural Center

Union City IN Post Office 47390 Mural Signature

Union City IN Post Office 47390 Mural Right

Union City IN Post Office 47390 Mural Left

Union City IN Post Office 47390 Mural Detail

Union City IN Post Office 47390 Artifacts

Sources

Personal visit on 11/23/21 about 12:17 PM by David W. Gates Jr.
Indiana Post Office Mural Guidebook by David W. Gates Jr.
United States Postal Service
(affiliate link) Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal: [Hardcover] Marlene Park, Gerald E. Markowitz
(affiliate link): A Simple and Vital Design: The Story of the Indiana Post Office Murals: John C. Carlisle

Tipton Indiana Post Office

November 24, 2021 By David W. Gates Jr.

ADDRESS: 203 E. Jefferson St, Tipton, Indiana 46072
ARTIST: Donald M. Mattison
TITLE: Indiana Farming
MEDIUM: Oil on canvas (mural)
STATUS: The Tipton post office is still an active, operating facility, and the mural can be viewed by interested members of the public. It resides in the lobby on a wall above the postmaster’s door.
YEAR: 1937

It was a cold morning when I visited the Tipton post office. I was thankful for the clear and sunny weather. The exterior of the building is nice with great decorative brick features. The lettering in all black above the door is difficult to read for the casual observer. Luckily I can zoom in with my camera to see it.

The mural inside the building is wonderful. However, I’m less than thrilled with the two lights that hang so far down that made it really difficult to get good photos.

I know in other buildings the lights have been raised to the ceiling enabling a better viewer experience.

UPDATE

This was another re-visit during the summer of 2023 to get a little better exterior image of the building.

David W. Gates Jr.